Learning with a mirror

Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

On my first evening at the dance class, the mirrors seemed to multiply every mistake. While the rest of the group travelled across the studio, I was still checking whether my elbow looked awkward. My reflection became a private inspector, always half a second behind the music but somehow in charge of it. I watched myself so closely that I barely noticed the people dancing beside me.

One week, the teacher drew curtains across the mirrors. The room did not become easier, but it felt larger. Without an image to correct, I had to listen for the beat and judge the distance between myself and the next dancer. A missed step became something that happened and passed, rather than a verdict waiting on the wall. For the first time, I completed the sequence without interrupting it to examine myself.

The absence of mirrors did not magically improve my technique. When the curtains were opened for five minutes at the end of a later lesson, I saw that my left shoulder rose during a turn. This time, however, the reflection answered a question instead of providing a running commentary. I would not remove mirrors from dance studios, but I no longer accept their opinion throughout the lesson. A mirror is useful when I choose what to ask of it.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

A pupil once asked me to cover the studio mirrors because they made her feel clumsy. Rather than argue with her, I asked the class to perform the same short sequence twice: first facing a plain wall and then facing the glass. During the second attempt, the dancers corrected the uneven gaps between them almost immediately. Yet their timing became cautious, as if each movement required visual approval before the next could begin.

That contrast explains why I use mirrors in stages. Pupils first learn a movement while facing away from them, concentrating on balance, rhythm and the teacher’s instructions. They then turn to inspect a particular feature, such as the angle of an arm or the spacing of the group. Finally, they repeat the sequence without watching themselves, carrying that information into the movement rather than leaving it on the glass.

A mirror shows an external picture; it cannot reveal effort, intention or confidence. However, refusing to use it would withhold information that a dancer may need. The glass is neither coach nor critic: it does not flatter, accuse or explain. Problems begin when pupils treat a reflection as all the evidence, or when teachers pretend it offers none. Learning requires dancers to look, look away and decide what deserves their attention.

Compare how the writers present their ideas and perspectives about using mirrors in dance classes. Support your comparisons with detailed references to both texts.